Xin Tian Di at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria

My college friends and I took advantage of Xin Tian Di's Deal Grocer voucher offer and had a little get-together one weekend. Xin Tian Di is Crowne Plaza Galleria's Chinese restaurant which offers an unlimited dimsum buffet. We got the deal for Php 780 per person (the original price is Php 1188), not bad for a hotel buffet.

Xin Tian Di has a pocket view of the Ortigas business district with ambient lighting. We were seated at a round table, which was a bit awkward since there are only four of us. We didn't bother to ask for a transfer because we had a nice view of the place.

We were given order forms where we could tick which items and how many of each item we would like to have. The menu has 6 categories: Steamed, Pan-Fried & Deep-Fried, Vegetarian, Noodles, Congee, and Dessert. We skipped the congee but ordered at least 1 from the other categories:

Steamed

We ordered the traditional dim sum: Steamed "Sio Mai" Pork Dumplings, Steamed "Sio Mai" Japanese style, Steamed BBQ Pork Buns, and Steamed Crystal Prawns ("Ha Kao")

Steamed "Sio Mai" Pork Dumplings

Steamed "Sio Mai" Japanese Style

Steamed BBQ Pork Buns

Steamed Crystal Prawns "Ha Kao"

The Japanese Sio Mai reminds me of the ones sold at Master Siomai, but it was so meaty, like the traditional Sio Mai. The Steamed BBQ Pork Buns is a little sweet and my friend liked it. The Hakao has 2 huge pieces of shrimp inside which I really like. Nothing too special though.

We also had Steamed Pork Ribs in XO Sauce and Steamed "Xiao Long Pao" Shanghai Style.

Steamed Pork Ribs in XO Sauce

Steamed "Xiao Long Pao" Shanghai Style

I loved the Steamed Pork Ribs, the meat was so tender that we didn't bother to order rice anymore. Another must-try is the Xiao Long Pao, also known as 'soup dumplings'. It tastes almost similar to the ones I've had at Shi Lin. My friends enjoyed listening to my little Xiao Long Pao lecture while eating these delicious dumplings.

We also had Stone Fish Dumpling and Bird's Eye Dumpling.

Stone Fish Dumpling

Bird's Eye Dumpling

I wasn't able to taste the fish in the Stone Fish Dumpling, it was meaty nevertheless. The Bird's Eye Dumpling's good too.

Pan-Fried & Deep-Fried

We didn't bother to order too many fried items except the Crispy Spring Rolls, which was a good breaker from all those steamed items we ordered, and the Chinese Pancake.

Crispy Spring Rolls

Chinese Pancake

The Chinese Pancake is like a flattened buchi with custard filling. I loved it!

Vegetarian

We also got a vegetarian version of Spring Rolls, but I guess we were too full to appreciate this.

Vegetarian Spring Rolls

Noodles

I wasn't into noodle soups and congee so we just ordered Dry-Fried Flat-Shaped Rice Noodles with Beef or Beef Hofan.

Beef Hofan

I found their version bland. I was looking for a little sweetness but I found none.

Desserts
My friends and I ordered all the dessert items on the menu except for the buchi (since we already had Chinese Pancake). We got the Steamed Sweetened Layer Cake and Sweet Egg Custard.

Steamed Sweetened Layer Cake

Sweet Egg Custard

The Steamed Sweetened Layer Cake tastes like fruitcake, so if you like fruitcake, you'd probably like this. The Sweet Egg Custard is so-so for me.

We also got the other three items: Malay Cake, Coffee Pudding, and Chocolate Mantao.

Malay Cake

Coffee Pudding

Chocolate Mantao

Two dessert items that I liked were the Malay Cake and the Coffee Pudding. The Malay Cake has this nutty edge which I really like and being a coffee addict, I found the Coffee Pudding really addicting! My friends fell in love with the Chocolate Mantao that they ordered for another one.

Overall, I was satisfied with our Xin Tian Di experience. The service and ambiance is great. I could say that the deal we got was worth it. I would probably try this once again and try the other items we weren't able to try.

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Xin Tian Di
Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria
Ortigas Avenue corner ADB Avenue,
Ortigas Center,
Quezon City
www.crowneplaza.com/cpmanila
Contact Number: 6337222 local 7240 / 7247